Saudi Aramco, Lanxess to launch rubber joint venture April 1

Saudi Arabian oil Co. (Aramco) and German chemicals group, Lanxess, on Wednesday said their new joint venture for synthetic rubber—to be called Arlanxeo –will be launched on April 1 this year.

The agreement on the 50-50 joint venture was signed on Sept. 22 last year to develop, produce, market, sell and distribute synthetic rubber used in the global tire industry, auto-parts manufacturing and other applications, Lanxess said in a statement.

Arlanxeo will be headquartered in the Netherlands, and the management team will be appointed soon.

Each partner will have equal representation on the boards overseeing the company. The chief executive will be appointed by Lanxess and the chief financial officer by Saudi Aramco, the statement said.